Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
Strategic acquirers, private equity (buyout funds and growth funds) firms, and valuation benchmarks for Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs
1.1 - About Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
Companies in this category are accredited universities and colleges that design, deliver, and credential postsecondary learning. For M&A teams assessing strategic buyers in higher education, these institutions award degrees and certificates, run executive and continuing education, and partner with employers on workforce training. Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs organizations create pathways for skill attainment, career advancement, and research-driven innovation.
They offer accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs alongside professional certificates, micro-credentials, and digital badges relevant to evolving job roles. Institutions operate online and hybrid delivery powered by learning management systems, and run executive education, bootcamps, and continuing studies tailored for working professionals. Many provide corporate training and apprenticeship pathways, robust advising and career services, and research commercialization and tech transfer that translate faculty innovation into industry partnerships and licensing.
Primary customers include prospective and enrolled students seeking degrees or credentials, professional learners and alumni pursuing upskilling, and corporate employers partnering for workforce development. Outcomes include accredited qualifications, improved employability and earnings, employer-aligned skill pipelines, and scalable training that meets regional labor demands. Institutions also support innovation transfer, creating commercial partnerships and licensing revenue while strengthening community impact and economic development.
2. Buyers in the Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
2.1 Top strategic acquirers of Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs companies
Laureate Education
- Description: Provider of higher-education services that owns and operates the Laureate International Universities network, running campuses in Mexico and Peru and offering undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as design, business, culinary, hospitality and health sciences to hundreds of thousands of students.
- Key Products:
- Laureate International Universities: Operates and manages campuses in Mexico and Peru, delivering accredited undergraduate and graduate degrees to 349,000 students via universities like UVM
- UNITEC
- UPC
- UPN and CIBERTEC.
- Undergraduate Programs: Provides bachelor's programs in design, business, culinary arts, hospitality, health sciences and more, combining classroom instruction and practical training at its Mexican and Peruvian universities.
- Graduate Programs: Offers master's and doctoral degrees across varied disciplines, supporting advanced professional development and research opportunities through its Latin American university network and faculty resources platforms.
- Campus and Online Delivery: Delivers education via campus-based classes and online platforms, expanding access and flexibility for students while maintaining quality curricula across multiple institutions and academic subject areas.
- Company type: Private company
- Employees: ●●●●●
- Total funding raised: $●●●m
- Backers: ●●●●●●●●●●
- Acquisitions: ●●
2.2 - Strategic buyer groups for Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
M&A buyer group 1: Continuing Education Centres
RTL
- Type: N/A
- Employees: ●●●●●
- Description: Provider of broadcast, streaming, radio and content-production services across Europe. RTL Group runs 56 TV channels, eight streaming platforms and 36 radio stations, owns Fremantle which produces 12,000 hours of programming yearly, and operates ad-tech and streaming tech subsidiaries to deliver entertainment, independent journalism and advertising solutions in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Hungary, Luxembourg and beyond.
- Key Products:
- RTL+: All-inclusive German streaming platform offering films, series, documentaries, live sports, 14 live TV channels plus music, podcasts, audiobooks and premium e-magazines, enhanced by AI-driven cross-media recommendations
- Television Channel Portfolio: Network of 60 European TV channels delivering entertainment, news and sport content, holding number-one or number-two positions in six countries
- Radio Stations: Ownership and stakes in 37 stations across France
- Germany
- Spain and Luxembourg, providing music, news and talk programming to national and regional audiences
- Fremantle Content Production: Global studio creating, producing and distributing scripted and unscripted shows, delivering over 11,000 hours of new programming each year for broadcasters and streaming platforms.
Buyer group 2: ████████ ████████
●● companiesBuyer group 3: ████████ ████████
●● companies3. Investors and private equity firms in Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
3.1 - Buyout funds in the Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
2.2 - Strategic buyer groups for Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
4 - Top valuation comps for Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs companies
4.2 - Public trading comparable groups for Higher Education Degree & Workforce Programs sector
Valuation benchmark group 1: For-Profit Postsecondary Education Companies
Ford
- Enterprise value: $●●●m
- Market Cap: $●●●m
- EV/Revenue: ●.●x
- EV/EBITDA: ●●.●x
- Description: Provider of a range of trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and luxury vehicles worldwide; offers retail installment sale contracts and direct financing leases for new vehicles; sells vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers; provides wholesale loans to dealers for vehicle inventory purchase and dealership operations.
- Key Products:
- Trucks: Range of Ford trucks with varied functionalities for different use cases
- Commercial Vehicles: Vans and commercial cars suitable for business applications
- Luxury Vehicles: Premium Lincoln-branded vehicles with advanced features and luxury
- Retail Financing: Retail installment sale contracts and direct financing leases for vehicle purchases
- Fleet Solutions: Wholesale loans to dealers for vehicle inventory and dealership operations.